IN THE MAKING

10.01.13

OMB Ready for Shutdown for Years

Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty

The government shutdown might have shocked you, but apparently the White House Office of Budget and Management has been prepared for two years—since the 2011 debt-ceiling debate. “We have been prudently planning for this contingency for the last month, and frankly, for the past couple of years because we have faced, and agencies have faced, these contingencies in the past,” said Brian Deese, the deputy director of the OMB. Other preparations took place in Washington on Monday, with National Park Service employees setting up barricades at the monuments and on the National Mall—and shutting off the 45 fountains. At the Capitol, the last tour for the indefinite future was held Monday at 3:10 p.m.